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Summer Picnic Ideas: 3 Must-Know Tips

Disclosure: These Shop on my favorite summer picnic ideas has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CraftYourCool #CollectiveBias

Summer Picnic Ideas

There’s nothing like summer in New York. It’s fleeting (though you still might catch us natives griping about the 90 degree temps), but it somehow makes curling up through the frigid winter all worth it. For this reason, I try to take advantage of the beautiful weather as much as possible.

Though I’m not an overly outdoorsy girl by any means, I do enjoy a nice Sunday hike, lounging by the pool, boating, etc. during the warmer months. I’m also look forward to summer picnics, too. Richard and I spend a lot of time at our local parks when the weather is nice, and it’s always fun to bring a snack and relax for a bit.

Oh, and my favorite part?

It’s free, aside from the food and drinks you pack.

Summer Picnic Ideas

Summer Picnic Ideas

I’m all about low-cost date ideas and friend outings nowadays (a girl’s gotta start saving at some point, ya feel?), and I also think that a picnic can be a lot more intimate and spontaneous than just grabbing your favorite restaurant food over and over again.

Here are a few of my favorite tips if ya’ll want to pull a page from my summer playbook too.

Summer Picnic Tips & Tricks

1. Get comfy

For a summer picnic, I like to make sure to grab a nice blanket and even a few outdoorsy pillows (aka ones I don’t care about getting on the ground) to bring with. We’ll usually hangout for quite a bit after we eat, so it’s nice to be able to get comfortable.

Summer Picnic Ideas

2. Bring Entertainment

If you’re anything like me, you just get that the whole point of doing something outdoors is to get away from technology a bit and enjoy your company. If you’re planning on hanging out, I’d recommend bringing some books, a frisbee, a camera (R. and I love playing around and taking pictures together, just for fun, sometimes), etc. to keep yourself occupied and off your phone. Make sure to check out this summer playlist, too, to really set the mood.

3. Stock up on Food

The most crucial element of any summer picnic? The food & drink — duh, haha. Definitely plan out what you’re bringing ahead of time (we didn’t do this one time, and it was a pain trying to figure out what food to pack), and get your cooler all set up. And make sure you have some good drinks, too! My drink of choice this summer is the new Starbucks® Bottled Dulce de Leche Frappuccino®. It’s so tasty, and I love that it’s bottled and ready to drink on-the-go.

Starbucks® Bottled Dulce de Leche Frappuccino® is new at Walmart, where I went this past weekend with my best friend Lia to pick up all my necessities for our next picnic. Shopping was so quick and easy…and you guys KNOW how much I appreciate convenience. We quickly grabbed some fresh flowers (my favorite), and ended up getting snacks (including Starbucks® Bottled Dulce de Leche Frappuccino®) for our next summery outing, too.

I was SO happy to have picked up several bottles of Starbucks® Bottled Dulce de Leche Frappuccino®, since it’s gonna be super hot out this week! Gotta have my cold coffee drinks when the heat hits 😉

+ See more on my favorite summertime drink here+ ALSO: Buy 3 ready to drink products & get 35 stars! (in store only, receipt verification)

Summer Picnic Ideas

Summer Picnic Ideas

So, what are your guys’ favorite summertime activities? Are ya’ll loving the new Starbucks® Bottled Dulce de Leche Frappuccino® at Walmart?

Let me know below, and be sure to pick up my fave summertime drink too if you haven’t already!

+ Don’t forget: Buy 3 ready to drink products & get 35 stars! (in store only, receipt verification)

Summer Picnic Ideas


Holly Habeck

Holly is a millennial travel and lifestyle writer based in New York. With ten years of experience in digital publishing and photography starting with her work writing for College Fashionista and Her Campus at Ithaca College, Holly has been featured in publications such as Southern Living and Lonely Planet. She enjoys sharing her travel expertise as well as lifestyle inspiration in categories such as home décor, DIY beauty, and fashion. More importantly though, Holly is a true Hufflepuff, and her Starbucks order forever remains a grande Iced Sweet Cream Cold Brew. When she's not writing or editing photos for this site, you can find her reading anything in the Sarah J. Maas universe or cuddling with her chihuahua x pomeranian pup Pixie.